Everett, Wash.
Published: Sunday, April 20, 2008

Trout season's opening day will be good, not great

By Wayne Kruse,
Special to The Herald

 As trout season opening days go, last year's was a blue ribbon event. The weather turned out warm and dry, water temperatures were optimal for fish movement, there were no great spring chinook runs or minus clam tides with which to compete, and the state legislature kicked in some extra bucks to buy and stock more of the big, popular, triploid rainbow.

So April 28, 2007, was a great day to be on the water.

The opener this year, April 26, will undoubtedly also be a great day to be on the water, since being on the water, fishing rod in hand, is almost always better than a lot of other unnecessary stuff, but -- for several reasons -- it may not quite match up with last year.

This has been a very, very long, cold and tedious winter for one thing. The weather may well turn out warm and sunny on opening morning -- anything is possible -- but water temperatures will probably still be on the chilly side by next weekend. One can certainly catch trout in cold water, of course, but the fish tend not to be as active.

And then there is the triploid situation for 2008.

Triploid rainbow are trout -- most commercially raised -- which were treated early in their life cycle to induce sterility. Much of their energy is thus channeled into growth rather than reproduction. The state plants triploids at an average weight of about a pound and a half, which makes them significantly larger than most hatchery trout and, in most anglers' minds, a lot more desirable. Size does matter.

There wasn't nearly as much money available to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to purchase trips this year, however, and the number of these big, fat 'bows waiting for opening morning is roughly half that of last year. The situation is further complicated by the greed factor.

Seems Washington anglers have gotten a little spoiled by triploid plants over the past two or three years. They have started choosing their opening day destination according to the triploid planting schedule, which is certainly legal and even moral, given the fact that the fish are there specifically to provide recreation. But they have also, in increasing numbers, started "creaming" for the larger fish by turning loose smaller rainbow and keeping only the trips.

That would probably be acceptable as well, except that it results in a significant loss of many of the smaller trout from rough handling during the "release."

In a biologist's eyes, waste is beyond the pale. More than that, it's generally a violation of the fishing regulations, if you're using bait -- not if you're using flies or other artificial lures. And so, at least in this area, trout managers have decided to try to lessen the "creaming" problem by planting their diminished number of triploids in year-round waters rather than those lakes which open next weekend. The trip plants in our three-county area for April 26, 2008 are:

Snohomish County

Blackman's Lake, 546 fish in April and May; Lake Cassidy, 1,744 fish in April and May; Flowing Lake, 900 fish in April and May; Gissberg Twin Lakes, 1,304 fish in April and May; Lake Martha (Warm Beach), 587 fish in April; Panther Lake, 546 fish in April and May; Lake Roesiger, 1,838 fish in April and May; Silver Lake (south Everett), 839 fish in April and May; and Lake Tye (Monroe), 523 fish, all to be planted this month.

Skagit County

Lake Campbell, 1,800 fish in April and May; Clear Lake, 1,286 fish in April; and Pass Lake, 232 fish in May.

Island County

Cranberry Lake, 658 fish in May; and Lone lake, 897 fish in April and May.

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Luckily, the Snohomish Sportsmen's Club and the Everett Steelhead and Salmon Club are still turning part of their annual Coho Derby profits into pen-raised triploids for the public to enjoy. By opening day, the Snohomish club will have made three plants each in Blackman's and Flowing lakes, of 200 to 300 triploid rainbow per plant. The majority of those fish, according to club president Mark Spada, will run 1-to-3 pounds, with a sprinkling of real heavyweights. Both Blackman's and Flowing lakes have good public access and a fishing pier.

Buzz Bauman of the Everett club said his group has planted 600 fish already in Flowing Lake, and will make another 600-fish plant before the opener. They stocked North Gissberg Pond (juvenile fishing only) with 3,000 triploids (plus a state plant of regular rainbow) prior to the club's annual kids' fish-in earlier this week, and put 500 to 600 in the south lake for the adults. Bauman said the club will also chip in 500 to 600 fish for the Marysville community's kids' fishing event May 3 at Jennings Pond, and the same number for the Cast for Kids event at Silver Lake, May 10, along with a state plant.

Except for the triploids, numbers of rainbow available to anglers on opening morning will be at least as good as last year, according to WDFW biologist Mark Downen at the agency's La Conner office, and maybe a little better. Many of the 'bows will come from the Bellingham hatchery, at 12 inches-plus and a half-pound or better, while those from the Arlington hatchery will run a little smaller.

If the weather has been warm, you'll probably do better in this piscatorial circus by being on your favorite lake when you still need a flashlight to see the jar of Berkley Gulp. If it's cold, it might be better to wait and hit it after the crowds are gone and things have settled down. On the other hand, some experienced fishermen make it an iron-clad rule to never get a boat wet on opening day, instead planning on a trip to Ki or Sixteen or McMurray on the following weekend. Take your pick.

As recently-planted trout acclimate to their new digs, they tend to stay shallow, so inexperienced anglers would do well on the opener to fish no deeper than about 6 feet or so. One of the most productive methods is to rig a light spinning or fly rod with 4- to 6-pound monofilament, then a small swivel at the end and one or two of the smallest split shot crimped on above the swivel. To the swivel tie 6 or 8 feet of 2- to 4-pound test leader and, on the end of the leader, a dark wet fly of size 8 or so. Any dark brown or black wet fly will work, maybe with a touch of red or yellow, or a little sparkle. Troll with about 50 feet of line behind the boat, in "S" curves along the weed line or shallow enough to just be able to see bottom. Stop occasionally to let your fly sink a little; work it with small twitches or jerks from time to time. And be awake; something is sure to take it.

Trolling a small Rooster Tail spinner or small Dick Nite spoon in 50-50 or red head also works well, a Triple Teazer, or one of the little fly rod Flatfish in frog pattern. If fishing bait, keep floating bait in relatively shallow water, above a slip sinker, or hang sinking bait -- a worm or a Pautzke's red egg -- 4 to 6 feet under a small (repeat, small) bobber.

Don't know anything at all about sport fishing? Need a suggestion on where to go to find bank access or a fishing pier? Look up a local tackle shop in the yellow pages and stop in. The guys behind the counter will be happy to talk to you, show you what you need, and how to use it.

The trout opener will draw better than a quarter-million anglers to the state's lakes (streams and rivers open later in the year), and despite possible shortcomings this time around, it will most certainly be a chance for quality family time, an opportunity to renew old friendships, and to generally enjoy a healthy dose of the outdoor experience which makes this such a desirable corner of the country. Catching a trout becomes pretty much secondary to the true reasons for participating in opening day.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA